Metric, Shadows on Stars

[OLD WAVE] While a collection of songs acknowledging the disconnect between virtual experience and what we once deemed real life isn’t exactly the height of novelty, few topics could better suit the Metric (sigh) system of sugared electro-pop chilled by frontwoman Emily Haines’ icy disaffection. Synthetica, the Canadian quartet’s fifth album after 15 years together, won’t attract many new users (even if Lou Reed’s appearance on travelogue duet “The Wanderlust” arrives as a surprise), but it should ably reward longtime fans—folks who admire dance rock but love to watch things on TV.